It seems that a common painkiller, acetaminophen, which many of us use for headaches, has a surprising side effect when given in hospitals.
Acetaminophen is well-known as a pain reliever. You might have used it when you had a headache or a fever.
While most of us swallow it as a pill, in hospitals it’s often given directly into the bloodstream, a method known as “intravenous” delivery.
Why the Intravenous Method?
There are a few reasons why hospitals choose this delivery method:
- The medicine acts faster.
- Medical staff can better control its dose and timing.
- It’s useful for patients who can’t take pills.
The Unexpected Effect on Blood Pressure
However, when acetaminophen is given intravenously, it can cause a significant drop in blood pressure. This can happen to anyone, not just the critically ill.
In fact, six in ten very sick patients experienced this, and a third of them needed medical intervention due to it. Despite this, it’s still widely used because it’s considered a safe and reliable drug.
The Research Behind the Effect
Thomas Qvistgaard Jepps and his team from the University of Copenhagen led this research. They wanted to uncover why this blood pressure drop happens with intravenous acetaminophen.
They discovered that when given this way, the drug doesn’t pass through the liver, leading to different chemicals being produced in the body.
These chemicals interact with potassium channels, which play a role in regulating blood pressure.
In experiments, the team managed to block these potassium channels in test rats, which reduced the blood pressure drop side effect.
What It Means for the General Public
The findings are crucial for healthcare providers, especially in times when many patients might be receiving intravenous acetaminophen, like during the COVID-19 crisis.
However, for most people who take acetaminophen orally and follow the recommended dose, there’s no cause for concern regarding blood pressure.
If you’re interested in blood pressure, there are also other studies about optimal times to take blood pressure medication and innovative treatments for high blood pressure.
The findings from this study can be found in the journal Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about unhealthy habits that could increase high blood pressure risk, and eating eggs in a healthy diet may reduce risks of diabetes, high blood pressure.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and results showing 12 foods that lower blood pressure.
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